The present invention relates to a portioning device which generates metered portions of food product. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved metered filling of trays or similar containers with food product to be conveyed to a packaging unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,927 describes a single belt conveyor for conveying ground meat in an elongated bar from an extrusion plate of a grinder. The ground meat bar is transported beneath a shear-like cutting blade which cuts metered portions or blocks from the bar and delivers the portions to fill successively presented trays. The type of system generally described in this patent is currently a conventional system for filling trays with ground beef product.
According to some known systems, these blocks of stranded ground meat are placed into trays and overwrapped or MAP sealed. Because of the method of production, the blocks of meat have extruded strands elongated horizontally given the orientation of the extrusion plate and the conveyor. The packaged blocks are sold in retail outlets to consumers. Consumers recognize this appearance of the ground meat, viewed through the top film of the packaging, with horizontal strands, as being common or conventional.
One drawback to this proportioning method is that a variable block weight of +/−5% is common.
The present inventors have recognized that it would be desirable to provide a proportioning apparatus which produced proportioned blocks of a higher weight consistency and which is capable of operating at a high rate of speed. The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a proportioning apparatus that also filled packaging trays with the meat product having a conventional, horizontal strand appearance.